Hmmm. Don’t Eat Winter Melon Soup-it tastes like dirty socks

Ivan and I went to a really interesting grocery store on Mira Mar road and I found a sought-after ingredient on my list of weird things to buy called Winter Melon.  Apparently, winter melon is a staple in winter melon soup.  As per the 1000 Foods to Eat Before you Die book, Winter Melon is a big deal in Chinese cooking. 

I bought my melons and went home to make my soup. The soup is pretty basic-broth, melon and then protein of your choice.  I liked the idea of shrimp/scallop dumplings which are nothing more than pureed shrimp/scallops dropped by teaspoons full into the boiling liquid.  So my entire family believed that this would be a far better soup if the Winter Melon was left out of the Winter Melon Soup.  There are things on the 1000 Foods list that I just don’t get.  My advice? Skip the Winter Melon because they taste like dirty socks.